Title: zenith of stars

Rating: T

Summary: "It's not the Six Eyes," they said. So then, the question is –what is it? [OC, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception!OC, AU]

Warnings: Description of blood/gore, violence.

AN at bottom.

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zenith of stars

"23: their machinations"

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The last time Shiki had been to the Kamo Clan was six years ago, when she herself had only been six years old. Six years old, and completely unaware of what it had meant to be ushered in through a side door and led through the clan grounds by a single clansman, discreet and secretive.

… It hadn't been her fault. Shiki had known nothing of the nuances of anything going on at the time, and Ima-san had been all too willingly tricked by their older Gojo clansman… who just so coincidentally happened to have strong ties to the Lady of the Kamo Clan.

This time, however, things are different.

They walk in through the front gates, for one. Upon arriving at the Kamo clan compound, the heavy doors are hastily opened by servants of the Kamo Clan, who act swiftly despite their shock at the unexpected arrival. Their surprise is understandable. Generally, it is only polite for any official visits to other clans to be arranged and announced well ahead in advance, which most certainly wasn't the case in this instance–

But considering that Jihei-san was dead, Shiki thinks that they're well past politeness at this point.

The Kamo clan grounds are large and ostentatious, not unlike that of the Gojo –and likely also the Zenin– clans in this respect. They are ushered into a spacious room, whereupon the servant acting as their guide stammers something about patience and the illustrious clan head and honored elders will be arriving shortly.

Surprisingly enough, they do arrive fairly swiftly. Shiki almost would've expected the Kamos to try and make them wait, as a silent reprimand for dropping in on the Kamo Clan with no prior notice the way they had. Pointless games and power plays, as was the norm between the Three Great Families. But from another perspective, perhaps the promptness of their response is not so surprising.

She rather doubts that the Kamo Clan is comfortable hosting Gojo Satoru in the middle of their clan compound any longer than strictly necessary.

"Gojo," greets the man leading the small entourage that receives them. Kamo Teruichi, the head of the Kamo Clan. The dark-haired man wears a slight frown on his face, his gaze flickering briefly from Kiyohira-sensei who looms behind as a silent guard to Shiki who sits quiet and obedient beside her cousin, before cutting back to Satoru-niichan.

"This is… unexpected," he says after a beat. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

The manner in which Kamo Teruichi-sama speaks is nothing but courteous and polite, but somehow the disgruntled note of 'dubious honor' still comes across loud and clear.

Satoru-niichan leans back in his seat and casually slings one leg over the other, not bothering to get up and return courtesies with a proper greeting. "Is that how we're going to be playing things? You know why I'm here, Kamo."

At that, the older man sighs tiredly, then gracefully takes the seat across from Satoru-niichan. He waves his hand dismissively at the agitated clansmen behind him, a halfhearted motion that's only a token measure to quell their discontent at the blatant disrespect shown to their clan head. "I see that assuming headship of your clan these past few years still hasn't changed you a single bit in any of the ways that truly matter, Gojo Satoru."

"Well, you know me," Satoru-niichan flashes the man a quick, humorless grin that's all teeth and little else. "Now. Tell me why my aide is dead."

"That's…"

Shiki still recalls seeing Jihei-san just yesterday. He'd smiled at her, and discreetly promised to help her restock her knives if she promised to keep it a secret from Ken-jichan. It seems almost unreal, that now he's dead –but Kiyohira-sensei had been serious when delivering the news, and from the looks of things…

…

Yesterday, Jihei-san had mentioned that he would be headed to the Kamo Clan for another meeting with Araya Souren. Who had been fairly cooperative with their ongoing investigation into Watanabe Kaori; apparently, Araya had met Watanabe as a knowledgeable associate in a field of study that was adjacent to his own specialty, eventually leading to him requesting her expertise for a personal project. Which loosely explained their meeting during Obon–

But not the missing holes that constituted Watanabe's suspicious background. Watanabe was officially listed as 'dead' when she really wasn't.

As Jihei-san told it, Araya had been startled to hear of this from him, but not entirely surprised. Supposedly, Araya had only assumed that the woman came from a curse user's background, or something along those lines. He had been under the impression that she was attempting to turn over a new leaf, and so he never felt the need to look too deeply into her personal circumstances.

It was a perfectly plausible explanation. But whether or not Araya was truly an unknowing acquaintance or a wilful accomplice…

I will give him the benefit of the doubt. But always remember; you should never take anyone at face value.

Jihei-san had deliberately struck up a cordial acquaintanceship with Araya, following their initial meeting. It was rare for Araya to leave the Kamo clan grounds, but Jihei-san would go to visit him in the Kamo estate every so often.

Except this time…

Kamo-sama raises a hand and rubs at his temples. "… I am aware of Gojo Jihei's death. You have my condolences, for the loss of a talented subordinate and fellow clansman."

Satoru-niichan clicks his tongue, "You aren't answering the question, Kamo. Why is Jihei dead?"

"I'm getting to that," the man says dryly. "As you know, Jihei was on friendly terms with Souren. Araya Souren is the only practitioner of true hojutsu, in this day and age. In return for sharing his knowledge and services with us, the Kamo Clan agreed to support his research in the revival and rediscovery of the art… which includes providing him with news of anything that may be of interest to his hojutsu research. Such as obscure locations for hidden temple ruins where hojutsu may have once flourished."

Satoru-niichan arches an eyebrow. "You're saying that Jihei accompanied him to one of these temple ruins? Without so much as a single word back to his clan beforehand?"

"I can only speak for Araya Souren's actions, not those of Gojo Jihei," Kamo-sama responds remarkably calmly in face of the other clan head's obvious skepticism. "If Jihei perhaps sent a message to you that was intercepted, then I would advise that you consider looking inward towards your own clan first, before conveniently setting your sights on mine."

Implied wherein: The Kamo Clan's hands are clean in this matter. Are you sure it's not internal sabotage from the Gojo Clan that's really at fault here?

"Mind your own business, Kamo," Satoru-niichan responds mildly. "Every clan has its dissenters, but now you're just projecting."

Kamo-sama shakes his head. "… I cannot say that I missed that sharp tongue of yours. You certainly didn't inherit that from Muneyoshi."

"I'm not here for idle chit-chat," Satoru-niichan rolls his eyes. "So, the ruins that you mentioned. Did Araya–"

"Souren is dead," the older clan head cuts him off sharply as he brusquely taps his fingers against the low table. Kamo-sama narrows his eyes. "He's dead, just like Jihei. If not for Matsuhime's accompanying shikigami, we wouldn't even have been able to recover their bodies."

Araya was dead?

… Jihei-san, dead. Araya, also dead. Because of… exploring cursed ruins together?

That was hard to believe. Jihei-san was a skilled Grade One sorcerer, and Araya was… officially unranked, since he technically wasn't a sorcerer, but Shiki still remembers the man's presence, that night when she'd encountered him during Obon. The weight in the air around him, and how she hadn't even noticed his arrival until he'd been right there… Shiki privately suspects that in terms of raw power, Araya might actually be a cut above Jihei-san, if push came to shove.

But Araya was dead, too?

Jihei-san and Araya's relationship with each other was one of mutual benefit. Gojo Jihei would assist Araya Souren with his research into hojutsu. In return, Araya Souren would assist Gojo Jihei with his investigation into Watanabe Kaori. If both of them were dead, then…

"Where are the bodies?"

"We're holding them in the sealed chambers. Currently, the bodies are heavily contaminated, so there are additional protections in place," Kamo-sama responds. "I can guide you there if you would like to confirm it for yourself, Gojo, although I would recommend that you leave your… little cousin behind. The sight is a touch gruesome."

No. Shiki refuses to be left behind, because this is something that she needs to see with her own two eyes.

"Kamo-sama is most considerate," she says politely with a perfunctory bow, no more and no less than the minimum requisite courtesy. "But it will not be necessary."

The man looks at her for a silent moment, considering, then nods. "Very well. Nagaharu, inform Elder Shino that I will be accompanying our unexpected guests to examine the corpses."

"As you command," another man standing in the backdrop lowers himself deeply to the ground, then departs swiftly.

"I'm surprised you're not taking this as an opportunity to try to extort anything."

Kamo-sama shrugs. "Call it curiosity, Gojo. I simply find it quite interesting that the Gojo Clan Head himself is so concerned over the death of a single aide, to the point where he himself comes calling in person… along with the 'blessed child' in tow. It makes me wonder –why did Gojo Jihei express such a keen interest in receiving an introduction to our foremost hojutsu expert in the first place?"

That was a very leading question, and also very revealing in regards to Kamo-sama's thoughts on the situation. The man didn't seem to be particularly bothered by the loss of his self-admitted 'foremost hojutsu expert' at all, but instead he found it interesting that Satoru-niichan was being proactive in wake of Jihei-san's death.

'Why is Gojo Jihei, a simple aide, of such importance to you? Was he acting on your orders? What is the Gojo Clan planning?'

But at the same time, if Kamo-sama actually knew more about the situation than he was letting on… then this was a deflection. Diverting suspicion from himself by demanding justifications from the Gojo Clan, when the truth of the matter was that Jihei-san had died while under the Kamo Clan's watch.

… Shiki despises clan politics.

She knows that Satoru-niichan feels similarly to her, even though both of them know better than to let it show on their faces. Satoru-niichan stretches out casually as he rises to his feet, catlike.

"You'd have to ask Jihei about the interest he had in hojutsu," he says airily. "After all, I don't make it my business to stick my nose over the shoulders of every single clansmen."

Translation: Unlike someone, I'm not so controlling of my clansmen, nor so keen on internal sabotage. This was a clear denial from Satoru-niichan in response to Kamo-sama's insinuation that Jihei-san was acting on his orders –which also meant that her cousin was not intending to ask the Kamo clan head about Watanabe Kaori. Which, in turn, indicated that Satoru-niichan did not trust Kamo-sama to be as entirely innocent as the other man claimed to be. In the worst-case scenario where Kamo-sama knew about the suspicious sorcerer, or perhaps was even her employer or sponsor… there was no point in revealing their hand early and letting Kamo-sama become aware of their investigation.

Alternatively, it was possible that Kamo-sama was telling the truth. But it was also equally possible that he was lying. Shiki doesn't know Kamo-sama well enough to make a call simply based on his mannerisms and behavior, but intuition tells her to be cautious, in a mental voice that sounds suspiciously like Jihei-san.

… Then again, perhaps Shiki is just being biased when it comes to matters related to the Kamo Clan, due to her own unfortunate prior experience.

For all the underlying tension in the barbed back-and-forth between the two clan heads, Kamo-sama remains true to his words and leads them to the sealed chambers containing Jihei-san's and Araya's corpses. There are easily hundreds of paper talismans covering the arched doorway, and hundreds more after they step inside. It's…

Shiki can certainly see what Kamo-sama had meant by 'contaminated.' There's something strange to the cursed energy coiled over the corpses, almost violently turbulent –if it had not been suppressed by seals, there's no doubt that it would hungrily fan out and spread to feast voraciously on anything and everything within its reach. And in the epicenter of it all–

Two bodies lie silently together, side by side. Both are a complete mess; even now there's dried blood crusting beneath them, and the mutilated flesh looks like it's been put through a grinder. Shiki barely recognizes Jihei-san. The normally-vibrant man is ashen-pale in death, and missing the entirety of the right side of his face. One arm is twisted back at an impossible angle, while the bottom half of his body is nothing but a bloody puddle of viscera and gore, bits of broken bone and god knows what else strewn messily across the floor in a grotesque splatter.

… There are no lines. Shiki knows what that means. Jihei-san is dead.

But just a day ago, Jihei-san had been smiling and talking to her. She'd seen him just yesterday, and now he was… dead.

Somehow, there's part of her that still expects to turn around and see Jihei-san standing beside Kiyohira-sensei, even despite literally seeing his broken corpse splayed out on the ground before them.

Harsh reality, undeniable truth.

There's a sharp hiss, a rough intake of breath from Kiyohira-sensei as he takes in the gruesome sight of his friend's body. Shiki knows that Kiyohira-sensei and Jihei-san had been close friends, so his reaction isn't surprising. Satoru-niichan doesn't even bat an eye at the blood –also unsurprising. And as for Shiki herself…

…

There's a hollow sort of gnawing in the middle of her chest, and she doesn't know what to do with it. It makes her want to pull out her sword and cut, except there's nothing for Shiki to cut. Who is she supposed to kill? Araya, who's already dead? Kamo-sama, who claimed to be largely uninvolved with the incident? Who had even been mostly cooperative, thus far?

… There's another part of Shiki that almost wants to cry, except there are no forthcoming tears. Shiki's eyes remain clear… which might actually be a good thing. This isn't exactly the time or place to be mourning Jihei-san, not under the thinly-veiled scrutiny of the Kamo clansmen accompanying them.

"Well, that's Jihei, alright," Satoru-niichan says nonchalantly, confirming what Shiki already knew the instant she laid eyes upon the corpses. That it really is Jihei-san lying dead on the ground, murdered by a cursed spirit under questionable circumstances.

"Are you satisfied, Gojo?" Kamo-sama's voice somehow contains a note of good humor, despite the morbid situation. His gaze cuts towards Shiki for a brief, contemplative moment, before returning to face her cousin. "If so, I would ask that you leave. It would not do for the seals placed here to become destabilized by our presence. As soon as the purification rituals have been finished, we will return Jihei's body to the Gojo Clan, so that he might receive the appropriate funerary honors."

"So eager to get rid of us?"

"You jest, Gojo," Kamo-sama heaves a great sigh, performative and exaggerated. But he does not outright deny it, which is rather telling. "What happened to Jihei and Souren was an unfortunate tragedy. However, the Kamo Clan is not culpable for it. I hope that's been made abundantly clear by this point."

"So you say," Satoru-niichan hums. Then, leadingly, "You're not going to try a little harder to convince me?"

"It is unnecessary. Perform your own investigations, if you insist. The Kamo Clan has nothing to hide," the other clan head responds serenely in a way that suddenly makes Shiki want to stab him, just a little bit. Going by the heavy, warning hand that immediately clamps down on her shoulder, though, Kiyohira-sensei has clearly noticed her feelings and severely disapproves.

"Maybe I will," her cousin counters without missing a beat, then claps his hands together. "Right, then. Thanks for your hospitality, Kamo, we'll be on our way now."

… Just like that?

Mentally, Shiki falters. But we still don't know what happened to Jihei-san! Not aside from what Kamo-sama had told them –that Jihei-san and Araya had met their unfortunate demise while exploring cursed ruins together, what a pity– and while that might be the truth, the entire situation is just suspicious and unnatural. Shiki would be a fool to take Kamo-sama at face value so simply. Satoru-niichan is no fool, either, which begged the question of why he was backing down so easily.

Her cousin isn't as close to Jihei-san as Shiki herself is –was– but she knows that Jihei-san had been a great help for Satoru-niichan in many clan matters, and the two had gotten along fairly well with each other, for the most part. It's not like Satoru-niichan at all to come knocking on the Kamo Clan's door for answers, then be appeased by this cursory sort of explanation that Kamo-sama had offered.

What game was her cousin playing this time?

Shiki manages to bite down on her confusion until they're well out of the Kamo Clan's range before finally asking her cousin outright.

"A few reasons," Satoru-niichan responds patiently. "So. First of all, Kamo was lying."

… Of course Kamo-sama had been lying.

"Well, probably not about everything," her cousin swiftly amends, "But definitely about the extent of his clan's involvement, which he kept denying."

Shiki had loosely suspected it herself too based on intuition, but, "How do you know for certain?"

"Because he said I was welcome to perform my own investigation into this matter," her white-haired cousin scoffs at the memory. "If he was really serious about convincing me to believe him, then he would've sworn his words upon a binding vow. Which he noticeably didn't, ergo, he's definitely hiding something."

Shiki frowns. "Is he responsible?"

"Mm, possibly. Either that, or I suspect that he just saw an opportunity and went for it," Satoru-niichan shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Jihei's death… it's one thing if it's an accident like the Kamos are claiming, but it's another thing entirely if it was planned. Which then begs the reason why someone else wants Jihei dead, and why the Kamos are in on it."

Gojo Jihei was a high-ranking member of the Gojo Clan. It had been a swift ascent to power, following Satoru-niichan's sudden rise to clan head. Looking at things like this, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that he had political opponents from within the clan aiming to take him out of the picture in a more permanent manner. But anyone who wished to do so would surely also know that this meant bringing the attention of Gojo Satoru down upon them. And Shiki herself as well, however much her worth was in the Gojo Clan these days.

"… Do you think someone from the Gojo Clan might really be involved?"

"Maybe," Satoru-niichan shrugs. "But… I have a feeling that it's more likely to be involved with Jihei's 'side project.'"

The thought had also occurred to Shiki. But even then, things still didn't quite make sense. This entire headache-inducing situation was rapidly becoming ever more convoluted, and she takes a moment to step back and take in the facts.

Jihei-san had died while exploring cursed ruins with Araya Souren. Araya had been assisting Jihei-san with the investigation into Watanabe Kaori. Both of them were dead, and the Kamo Clan was denying responsibility.

… So, what did this mean? Had Kamo-sama decided to make Araya into a sacrificial pawn, to throw off their suspicions? Did Watanabe Kaori actually share some connection to the Kamo Clan, if she played any role in all of this? And, assuming that this was the case –then what was the Kamo Clan's goal? With the interest that Watanabe had shown in Shiki… was there something that the Kamo Clan wanted with the Gojo Clan's 'blessed child?' Something that was worth killing Jihei-san for?

Shiki grimaces. There's not enough information to work off from, and entirely too many possibilities.

"At any rate, there's at least one thing we know for sure," Satoru-niichan stretches. "We've got confirmation on the 'ruins' that Jihei and Araya visited. I'm sure that the Kamo Clan will have tried to cover their tracks, but if there are any lingering clues to be found…"

"Then it might shed some light on the circumstances of Jihei's death," Shiki finishes the thought.

Her cousin snaps his fingers and grins, "Exactly!"

Kiyohira-sensei crosses his arms. "And if it's a trap?"

Shiki looks to Satoru-niichan, and their eyes meet in perfect agreement.

"Then, we spring it."

.

.

The cursed ruins turn out to be the derelict remains of what used to be a grand Buddhist temple, one whose name had been forgotten with the inexorable passage of time. But even though the name had long been lost, certain records yet remained; for the temple had once flourished in the distant past.

Whether or not this temple had truly taught some form of hojutsu to its followers was unclear, but there was no doubt that this was the place that Jihei-san had accompanied Araya to.

Shiki cranes her head back, and looks up.

Forest undergrowth creeps over aged stone pillars, burying everything beneath a verdant layer of green. However, absolutely no amount of shrubbery can or will ever be enough to cover up the distinct echo of cursed energy emanating from the ruins.

"Doesn't seem like much," Satoru-niichan remarks. Shiki herself has never had the opportunity to explore any cursed ruins before, so she wouldn't know. Kiyohira-sensei makes a disgruntled sound, but does not verbally say anything to contradict his clan head. "Let's take a closer look now, shall we?"

Satoru-niichan raises a hand in front of him and–

A low tremor runs through the ground beneath their feet. The three of them might be standing a good distance away from the ruins, but Shiki can feel the rumbling in the earth from newly-shattered stone and upended wood, as the collection of buildings already on verge of falling apart are suddenly drawn together into an invisible vortex of destruction.

Limitless. To be more precise, the application of Blue, the strengthened technique that generated the power to attract. Shiki doesn't often have the opportunity to see her cousin in action like this, and so she takes a moment to properly appreciate the swift demolition.

Satoru-niichan finishes by clenching his hand into a first; all the rubble floating in the air contracts, then falls to the ground with a heavy thud.

Kiyohira-sensei peers across the field of ruin with an air of resignation. "… That's certainly one way to clear the area, Satoru-sama, but was this really necessary?"

The white-haired young man shrugs carelessly and smirks. "It's not like this place is marked as a cultural heritage site that needs to be protected. Besides, don't you think it sends an excellent message to whoever is watching?"

A message that could range anywhere from a cursory warning of 'Don't get in my way' to 'This is what awaits you, should I find proof that you bear responsibility for my clansman's death.' Kamo-sama was absolutely about to have a great time interpreting things on his end, once he received reports of their little excursion here.

Satoru-niichan takes the lead and hops lightly into the smoking crater he'd created, where a single small shrine remains standing amid the surrounding destruction. It's the source of the perceptible thrum of cursed energy that Shiki senses –and likely the entryway to a barrier. That meant their next step would be to–

Shiki's head snaps up; half a heartbeat behind Satoru-niichan, who has already whirled around and–

There is a sudden weight in the air. Kiyohira-sensei grunts as his knees buckle sharply beneath the sudden pressure, and Shiki quickly grabs her teacher's hand. She extends a layer of her own cursed energy over him, which helps him to relax marginally –but only for a moment.

Suddenly, a strident scream tears through the air, resounding like a thousand heavy temple bells. A cursed spirit, there's no doubt about it. Shiki looks upwards, tracking it as it streaks down towards them from above. This one bore a vaguely deer-like form, some strange cross between a stag and a lion, and looked as if its body was constructed from stone. It hurtles towards them like a meteor, and Shiki suddenly discovers with a small start that they're locked in place.

There's no barrier trapping them. Was this somehow part of the cursed spirit's technique?

Whatever it was, there was no time to think about it. Shiki relaxes slightly when a house-sized block of debris slams into the cursed spirit and tears its body apart, no doubt Satoru-niichan's doing, but… somehow, it still doesn't stop. Even though its entire form is destabilized and shredded into pieces, it continues careening downwards, each jagged chunk of its shattered body aimed towards Shiki and Kiyohira-sensei unerringly despite the pull of Limitless. Satoru-niichan is too far from them; physical contact is required for him to extend his cursed technique over another person–

And then the cursed spirit is upon them.

… But even though its physical form has been torn into roughly a dozen or so jagged pieces, the cursed spirit itself is still only one singular entity, in the end. Shiki realizes this, a sudden epiphany that bursts across her mind, and then concentrates on this immutable truth and forces herself to look.

The instant that the cursed spirit is close enough, she unsheathes her sword.

Kiyohira-sensei is an excellent swordsman, and his specialty is iaido, the art of swift and deadly sword-drawing. In his prime, Kiyohira-sensei had easily triumphed over the New Shadow Style's fastest sword-drawing technique. Shiki does not possess the same affinity for the skill as her teacher, but she is proficient with his specialty.

As soon as the cursed spirit hurtles inside her range, the young girl slashes at those red lines gleaming solidly in the open air, amid the empty space between the serrated shards of the cursed spirit's body.

Shiki exhales slowly, re-sheathing her sword with a soft click as the hilt meets the scabbard once more.

The cursed spirit instantly crumbles away into dust, leaving nothing but a dying wail lingering in her ears.

"Shiki! Everything alright?"

"Just fine, Satoru-niichan," she calls back. Her cousin touches down beside her, obviously having made his way for the curse himself when he realized it had some strange form of auto-targeting going on. Usually, destroying a curse's physical form was more than enough to exorcise the curse in question, so this was… a strange case. This was Shiki's first time encountering a curse that didn't immediately die upon suffering that sort of catastrophic damage. Satoru-niichan's speed meant that he definitely would've made it in time to protect them, but Shiki's imitation of Kiyohira-sensei's sword-drawing technique had been just a touch faster in the heat of the moment.

Even so, this curse… doesn't strike her as one capable of killing Jihei-san. But if it was one that was associated with this temple as it seemed to be and Jihei-san had been here before them, then why hadn't he exorcised it?

How strange.

After giving her a brief once-over for injuries, Satoru-niichan, too, turns his attention towards where the broken, disintegrating chunks of the cursed spirit had fallen. The young man steps forward and peers down contemplatively.

"… Something wrong?" Shiki asks her cousin.

"Maybe. We'll see," he responds after a slight pause, straightening. "For now… let's get back to taking a look at whatever is inside the barrier over there. Are you coming along, Kiyohira, or do you need another moment to rest your knees?"

Out of the three of them, Kiyohira-sensei had been the one most affected by the pressure that the cursed spirit had exerted with its entrance, pulled to the ground as he had been. Some sort of gravity-manipulation, perhaps? … Whatever it was, Shiki supposes that the reason for its relative ineffectiveness against her and Satoru-niichan was probably due to the fact that both of them had vastly larger cursed energy reserves to draw on than Kiyohira-sensei.

"I'm fine, Satoru-sama." The large man gives Shiki a short nod and a brusque little shove when she lingers by his side in vague concern. With the equivalent of a mental shrug, Shiki picks her way over to Satoru-niichan, carefully navigating her way across the rubble to the pristine shrine that is the sole survivor of it all.

Satoru-niichan takes her hand as Kiyohira-sensei comes up behind them, and the three of them enter the temple's remaining barrier.

The air that immediately washes over them upon their entry is thick and heavy, saturated with the scent of blood. Kiyohira-sensei stiffens minutely, but Satoru-niichan and Shiki are unaffected. Looking out into the dark cavern that the barrier had transported them into…

Satoru-niichan makes a 'tsk' sound, "This almost looks like a jail cell or something. Ugh, so depressing."

But perhaps the most disturbing thing here was the lake of blood pooled in the center of the room; and within the center of that lake, a small stand carved from stone. Atop the stand, there was a faded, tattered golden fabric draped over the mottled rock like a tablecloth, and yet it was empty. There was only a faint imprint in the folds of the cloth indicating that it had held anything at all in the first place –some sort of box, perhaps? It certainly looked like a cubic imprint, although Shiki wouldn't be able to say for sure. The residual traces of cursed energy that lingered there also suggested that–

"What happened here?" Kiyohira-sensei hisses. Shiki glances over towards where her teacher had begun searching the rest of the room while Satoru-niichan was studying the empty stand that had also drawn her attention earlier. It was a little strange that Kiyohira-sensei was–

Oh.

… Was Kiyohira-sensei crouched over the missing half of Jihei-san's head?

Something trembles inside Shiki's chest at the realization, and she slowly raises a hand to press at her own body. It's not overtly painful, but there's something about the sensation inside her that stings nonetheless. Yet the applied pressure from her hand does not help it abate any; in fact, it only feels exacerbated, especially when Kiyohira-sensei carefully reaches out with his hands to gather Jihei-san into his arms, uncaring of the blood that stains his sleeves.

That's unsanitary, Shiki almost says, entirely on instinct alone. It's what Kiyohira-sensei always says so severely to her, ever since the one time he'd caught Shiki curiously drawing her fingers through a pool of red-black blood on a mission. But for some reason, there's something that inexplicably stills her tongue, in this moment.

"Interesting."

Shiki blinks, and turns back around. "'Interesting?' What is, Satoru-niichan?"

Her cousin straightens. "Going by the traces that I'm seeing, there definitely was a cursed artifact sitting here. So, clearly Jihei didn't come here on a wild goose chase. But Kamo only mentioned 'cursed ruins' and mentioned absolutely nothing about a cursed object, don't you find that interesting?"

That's right. Kamo-sama had only said that Jihei-san accompanied Araya on a trip to explore a set of cursed ruins, ostensibly for the other man's hojutsu research, but he hadn't provided any further details beyond that. Looking at the situation as a whole… why would he choose to omit a detail as important as this? Surely Kamo-sama would realize that the Gojo Clan would perform their own follow-up investigation here? There was no hiding something as obvious as this from even Shiki's eyes, much less Satoru-niichan's.

"What's Kamo-sama playing at?" she slowly raises a hand, covering her mouth in faint consternation. "If he knows that we'll find out anyways, then why…?"

"Plausible deniability in the future, most likely," Satoru-niichan rolls his eyes. "If he told us that the Kamo Clan gained a cursed artifact out of this, then he would be obligated to offer recompense to the Gojo Clan, for Jihei's death. Since he didn't… even if we go back and demand recompense at this point, he'll be able to deny knowing anything in the first place. In fact, he'll probably also use it as an opportunity to make us out to be the heartless ones here, for focusing on material gain in wake of a clansman's death. Even if we're following the assumption that the Kamo are one step ahead of us and already have this missing cursed artifact secretly stowed away in their storehouse."

… Shiki really, really does not like clan politics. "Is this really the Kamo Clan's handiwork, then?"

"Signs currently point to yes, but there's still no solid proof." Of course it figures that the Kamo Clan's elders are also slippery like eels, just like the elders of the Gojo Clan. They're all the exact same, aren't they? "You want to know something else that's also interesting?"

The twelve year old eyes her older cousin, "I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Nope," Satoru-niichan shakes his head wryly. "See all this blood? If I'm reading everything correctly –and y'know, I think I have a pretty good eye when it comes to these sorts of things– then, in order for the cursed artifact to be removed from its resting place here, there needs to be a fitting sacrifice."

With his Six Eyes, there's absolutely no doubt that Satoru-niichan is reading everything correctly.

… Shiki has learned of similar cases in the scrolls that she'd borrowed from Yuzuki-san before as additional readings, but, "A sacrifice, really? … Is that what happened to Jihei-san and Araya, then?"

Had both of them been tricked here by the Kamo Clan, so as to be sacrificed so the Kamos could get their hands on whatever this mysterious cursed artifact happened to be? … Something that demanded the blood of two powerful Grade One sorcerers… what in the world were the Kamos planning?

"But the curious thing is," Satoru-niichan continues blithely, "Apparently, only one sacrifice is needed to retrieve the cursed artifact enshrined here. So then, that begs the question… why do we have two dead sorcerers?"

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Author's Notes:

If there is a certain cube-shaped cursed object with Buddhist roots and also involves trapping things that comes to mind while you're reading this chapter… Yes, you are definitely onto something. No, I will not elaborate. :D

Jihei's death is still shrouded in mystery; more on that in the future. For now, Shiki's only certainty is that things are definitely not as simple as they seem, which she's going to have fun exploring haha.

AU snippets (several AU snippets), writing status, update notifications, etc., are all up on my Tumblr! Link is in my profile.

-XxZuiliu